Itsudemo Atarashii Ashita
by Jounouchi Kun Joey
Summary: Jounouchi is a lonely little boy whose is abused by his father and dreams of a better life. Honda is the youngest of seven children and only wants someone to pay attention to him. What happens when these two boys meet?
1. Friendship

A/N: I love Jounouchi and Honda! Chibi Jounouchi and Honda are even better! *Giggles*  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them.  
  
Warnings: Um...talk of child abuse and neglect. And two impossibly cute little boys.  
  
Rated: PG to PG-13 depending on the chapter.  
  
Archiving: Just ask me by e-mailing me at Jounouchi_kun_joey@yahoo.com  
  
Summery: Jounouchi is a lonely little boy whose is abused by his father and dreams of a better life. Honda is the youngest of seven children and only wants someone to pay attention to him. What happens when these two boys meet?  
  
Authoress: JKJ  
  
Title: Itsudemo Atarashii Ashita  
  
Chapter 1/???: Daijoubu  
  
A pair of blue sneakers pounded the pavement, splashing through the puddles that were quickly forming. A small boy in a light blue green windbreaker was running as fast as his short legs could carry him, his disheveled blond hair blowing behind him. Every so often, he looked over his shoulder. Why he was running wasn't obvious to the passerby for a moment, but it soon became so as a large man in blue jeans and a bathrobe came running out of the door the boy had just exited from.  
  
"Jounouchi!" The man screamed down the street, his accent made worse and his voice slurry by what could only have been alcohol, and he waved his fist in the direction the boy had gone, though he made no motion to follow him. "Come back here! Jounouchi!"   
  
The little boy didn't stop, or even turn around. Instead he screwed up his face, and forced himself to run faster. Several people yelled after him as he shoved his way through the crowds that were getting thicker the further he ran, but he paid them no heed. He had to get away!   
  
Finally feeling like he could run no further, he made a quick dart down an alley. He ran up until it came to a dead end, and leaned heavily against the brick wall. He sat there panting, wide brown eyes closed. He was soaking wet, but the rain was letting up now. He didn't believe his father had followed him this far, if he had followed him at all, and his small, trembling frame began to relax. Something suddenly grabbed him from the front of the shirt and lifted him clean off his feet.  
  
"Hey kid!" A gruff voice laughed, and the blond boy opened his eyes fearfully. He found himself face to face with a boy that had to be at least twice his age. He whimpered and began to struggle. The older child seemed amused by this, and began to laugh. "What you so scared of, kid? Can't find your mommy and daddy? Are you lost?" The boy shoved him against the wall, and Jounouchi let out a frightened cry. The kid smirked. "Give me all your money, kid, and maybe I'll help you find your way back."   
  
"But...but I don't have any!" Jounouchi whimpered honestly, big brown eyes staring at him pleadingly. Angrily the kid slammed him into the wall again, causing Jounouchi to cry out once more.   
  
"Look kid we can do this the hard way or the easy way. Give me all your money!"  
  
"But I don't got any!" The kid slammed him again, harder this time. Jounouchi was beginning to see spots.   
  
"I said give me all your..."  
  
"Hey!" The kid turned around, and Jounouchi looked over his shoulder. A boy was standing at the end of the alley was a boy with hair much like Jounouchi's, only brown and shorter, and wearing a worn out leather jacket. He was looking at the older boy defiantly, and standing in a fighting pose.  
  
"Who do you think you are, punk? I'm busy here, doing business with this kid, so why don't you just scoot?" Jounouchi looked at the boy pleadingly, begging him with his eyes not to leave, and the boy nodded to him before glaring up at the kid.   
  
"Leave him alone! He hasn't done nothing to you!"  
  
"No one asked you, baby! What's he to you anyway?" The boy smirked, hazel eyes dancing with energy.   
  
"He's an innocent, and as he is, it's my duty to protect him!" Even Jounouchi had to admit, that sounded a bit corny, but he admired the boy's courage, as he didn't think that he was any older than himself. The boy holding Jounouchi's shirt raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What are you, some kind of hero or something?" The young brunette smirked.  
  
"Something like that." Faster than Jounouchi could move, the younger boy had run up and hit the older boy in the side of the neck with the side of his flat hand. The older boy cried out, and dropped Jounouchi, who landed hard on his rear. He stared as the brunette used speed like Jounouchi had never seen to take down the older boy, who was to stunned to fight back. He went down hard and quickly, and as soon as he did the brunette turned to face Jounouchi with a fierce look. Jounouchi whimpered, and pressed himself into the wall as far as he could, closing his eyes and bracing himself for an attack. When none came, he opened his eyes, and gasped in surprise. The boy was reaching his hand down for him to take!   
  
"Are you alright?" He asked in concern. Jounouchi used the hand to pull himself up before nodding.  
  
"I'm fine. Arigato, you were wonderful!" The kid grinned at him, and scratched the back of his own head.  
  
"Yeah well, I can't be everywhere at once. You look after yourself now, you hear?" Jounouchi nodded, grinning.  
  
"My name is Jounouchi Katsuya! Who are you?" The boy smiled at him.  
  
"Honda Hiroto." Honda shook Jounouchi's hand, before turning away. "You be careful alright?" Jounouchi grinned, nodding once more.  
  
"Arigato again!" Honda gave him a thumbs up before running down the alleyway, disappearing at the corner. Jounouchi sighed, and started walking back toward his home. After all, he had nowhere else to go. He kicked a rock, and then looked up at the sky. If only he had a friend, then he'd have someone to help him escape from his father. Maybe a friend like Honda! Jounouchi smiled a little, imagining the brunette being his best friend. He found comfort in that thought, unaware that across town, another little boy was imagining the same thing about him.  
  
End A/N: Well, that's how our two boys meet. When will they meet again? You'll have to wait and see ;). Ja Ne,  
JKJ 


	2. Meeting Again

A/N: Um...I do have a plot for this now ^_^ and the super natural part will come in quite a bit later, and the title is Japanese that translates roughly too 'Always a New Tomorrow'.   
  
Itsudemo Atarashii Ashita  
  
Chapter 2/10ish (probably more)  
  
Honda slouched over his desk, trying to look like he was busily doing something so that no one could see the furious blush that was spreading over his face. The girls behind him were giggling and whispering to each other, and he just knew they were talking about him and his too big, always dirty, rumpled clothes.   
  
He began to turn even redder as he thought about this, and scribbled harder against the paper with his blue crayon. It's not like it was his fault that seven older siblings had used all his clothes first and that, no matter how hard he tried, they never came clean or looked nice!  
  
Someone dropped into the desk beside him, which had thus far been untouched by anyone, and he looked up in surprise. A large pair of brown eyes that looked overjoyed to see him met his gaze. It was Jounouchi, that boy he'd rescued a week ago!  
  
"Hi, Hiroto!" Jounouchi grinned.  
  
"Honda." He corrected automatically. Where had that bruise on the side of his face come from? He was pretty sure that the bully hadn't hit Jounouchi in the face. Pretty sure, but not entirely, so he let it slide. Jounouchi blushed.  
  
"Gomenasai."   
  
"It's okay." Honda assured him. Jounouchi grinned at him.  
  
"Thanks again for saving me. You were really great!" Honda felt his face getting hot again, and turned away.  
  
"It was no big deal, really." Either Jounouchi wasn't listening to him, or her thought that it really was a big deal, as he kept gushing.   
  
"If I could fight like that, I'd never have to run away from ANYONE again..."   
From Jounouchi's expression, Honda half expected to see a light bulb click on over his head. "Hey! Can you teach me to fight like that?"  
  
Honda blinked in surprise as he found himself grinning with delight and nodding, as if he were someone else's puppet. "Sure! Why don't you come home with me after school today, and we'll get started?" Honda didn't think he'd ever seen anyone as happy as his new companion was at that moment, and it made him feel good inside to know he was the reason for it.   
  
"Can I? Can I really? Oh wow, that's so great! Dad won't mind he won't even miss me! Arigato Honda-san! You're the nicest boy ever!" Honda couldn't help but grin at the boy's excitement, and felt himself blushing again.  
  
"Class!" The teacher rang her little bell, and the class fell silent. "Welcome to the first day of second grade. Please take out a pencil and some paper..."   
  
The math assignment they were asked to do was easy enough for Honda, but he noticed that Jounouchi seemed to be having trouble. He was staring at the teacher with what looked to be horror, and his paper was still blank. Honda maneuvered his finished paper so that it was in plain sight for Jounouchi and, after a moment, coughed slightly. The blond shot him an appreciative look before hurriedly scribbling the answers.  
  
"Don't forget your name," Honda whispered. Jounouchi blinked at him, and Honda cocked his head curiously. "Your name, Jounouchi. You do know how to spell it don't you?" Jounouchi shook his head.  
  
Honda was thunderstruck. How could he have passed the first two grades without learning to do simple math or to write his name?  
  
"I don't know how to read or write," Jounouchi admitted in a low whisper, face flushing red with shame, "I couldn't understand what the teachers were saying, they confused me. I always just scribbled something at the top of the page, and they assumed it was my name. I only know how to copy what's written up on the board or on someone else's paper..." Jounouchi flushed a deeper shade of scarlet, realizing he had just admitted to this boy that he'd been cheating to pass the last two years. He probably hated him now!  
  
Honda did, in fact, look furious, but it wasn't at Jounouchi. "Baka teachers! How could they not know that you needed help?" Honda whisper yelled, before looking at Jounouchi with hazel eyes that were shinning with honesty. Carefully, he reached over and wrote Jounouchi's name at the top of his paper. "I'm not only going to teach you how to fight, but I'll teach you too read and write too!" Jounouchi's eyes were shining with pure and sweet adoration for this boy that he thought was absolutely amazing.  
  
"Would you? Could you really?" Honda nodded empathetically.   
  
"You bet! No problem!" Jounouchi reached right over and hugged the other boy, unaware that people were staring at them. Honda sniffed for a bit, the relaxed. If Jounouchi wanted to hug him, that was okay, because...well it just was, and he'd even hug back.  
  
End A/N: Kawaii! *giggles* This chapter was going to be longer, but I changed my mind. The scene I had in mind can come later. Thanks for the reviews and suggestions, I'll keep those in mind. Ja Ne,  
JKJ 


End file.
